JP2007271828A - Stereoscopic image projector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stereoscopic image projector that is constituted by using a single projector, eliminates the need for making vertical frequency higher and for compression of image information, and allows easy manufacturing of stereoscopic glasses to be used, at a low cost. <P>SOLUTION: The stereoscopic image projector includes: a display device 1 that displays, on the identical frame period, an image for the right eye (or left eye) on nearly a half area 1a of a display area and an image for the left eye (or right eye) on nearly the other half area 1b of the display area; a splitting mirror 3 that separates the optical path of light from the right eye image and the optical path of the light from the left eye image; and optical filters 7a and 7b that impart different optical characteristics to the light from the right eye image and the light from the left eye image. The light from the right eye image and the light from the left eye image passed through the optical filers 7a and 7b are superposed on each other and projected onto a screen 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image projection apparatus that projects an image displayed by a display device on a screen to form an image, and displays a stereoscopic image.

  Conventionally, there has been proposed an apparatus capable of displaying a stereoscopic image in a projection type image display apparatus.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the projector has two projectors 101a and 101b, and each of the projectors 101a and 101b projects a right-eye image and a left-eye image on the same screen 102 so as to be projected. An image projection apparatus has been proposed. The image lights projected by the projectors 101a and 101b are given different optical characteristics by passing through the optical filters 103a and 103b in the optical path from the projection lens or in the optical path in the projector. These optical filters 103a and 103b are, for example, polarization filters, wavelength selection filters (Infitec), etc., and the light for displaying the image for the right eye and the light for displaying the image for the left eye have different polarization directions, or , And light having different wavelength distributions.

  Images projected by these projectors 101a and 101b are recognized as stereoscopic images by observing through so-called stereoscopic glasses 104. The stereoscopic glasses 104 include a right eye filter 104a and a left eye filter 104b. The right eye filter 104a has a characteristic of transmitting only light for displaying the right eye image. The left-eye filter 104b has a characteristic of transmitting only light for displaying the left-eye image.

  As a conventional stereoscopic image projection apparatus, as shown in FIG. 5, the projector has one projector 101, and the projector 101 projects a right-eye image and a left-eye image on the same screen 102 in a time-sharing manner. What has been proposed has been proposed. The projector 101 projects a right-eye image in the first vertical period, and projects a left-eye image in the second vertical period. In this way, the right eye image and the left eye image are projected alternately.

  The image projected by the projector 101 is recognized as a stereoscopic image by observing through the so-called stereoscopic glasses 105. The stereoscopic glasses 105 include a right-eye shutter 105a and a left-eye shutter 105b. The right-eye shutter 105a is driven so as to transmit light only during the period in which the right-eye image is displayed. The left-eye shutter 105b is driven so as to transmit light only during the period in which the left-eye image is displayed. A liquid crystal shutter or the like can be used as such a shutter.

  Further, Patent Document 1 describes a stereoscopic image projection apparatus that uses a “super multi-view area”. This stereoscopic image projection device is configured to project each piece of image information in slightly different directions based on image information having a small amount of parallax captured using a large number of cameras. A stereoscopic image is recognized by observing through a diffusion plate.

Japanese Patent No. 3667245

  By the way, in the stereoscopic image projection apparatus shown in FIG. 4, since two projectors must be prepared, the apparatus configuration becomes large, and it is necessary to drive these two projectors in synchronization. Therefore, driving means for synchronously driving these projectors is required, and the apparatus configuration becomes complicated.

  In the stereoscopic image projection apparatus shown in FIG. 5, only one projector is required. However, since the right-eye image and the left-eye image are alternately displayed, the flicker of these images is not noticeable. The vertical frequency must be double that of a normal projector. For this reason, in this stereoscopic image projection apparatus, it is difficult to manufacture the projector itself, and it becomes expensive.

  Further, in this stereoscopic image projection apparatus, it is difficult to manufacture stereoscopic glasses to be used, and it becomes expensive. Further, in this stereoscopic image projection apparatus, it is necessary to modulate each image signal and compress it to ½ period in accordance with the short vertical period of the image signal input to the projector, which complicates the apparatus configuration. Is invited.

  Further, in a stereoscopic image projection apparatus using the “super multi-view area”, a large number of cameras must be used to obtain image information, and the image information is enormous. There are many problems with the colorization of the display image and the configuration of the display device, and the practical application is still difficult.

  Accordingly, the present invention is proposed in view of the above-described circumstances, and can be configured using a single projector, and can be used without increasing the vertical frequency and compressing image information. An object of the present invention is to provide a stereoscopic image projection apparatus that can be easily manufactured at low cost.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the above object, the stereoscopic image projection device according to the present invention displays one of the right-eye image and the left-eye image in a substantially half region on one side of the display region. A display device for displaying the other of the right-eye image and the left-eye image in a substantially half region on the other side of the display region; light from the right-eye image displayed on the display device; and the display device A split mirror that separates the optical path from the light from the displayed image for the left eye, an optical filter that imparts different optical characteristics to the light from the image for the right eye and the light from the image for the left eye, and optical A projection lens that projects light from the image for the right eye and light from the image for the left eye that have passed through the filter onto the screen to form an image, and superimposes these images on the screen. It is characterized in that to display an image and the same frame period image for the left eye for the right eye.

  In the stereoscopic image projection device according to the present invention, the right-eye (or left-eye) image is displayed in the substantially half area on one side of the display area, and the left-eye (in the substantially half area on the other side of the display area) ( The display device for displaying the image for the left eye) displays the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye in the same frame period, so that it can be configured using a single projector, There is no need to compress the image information.

  Further, in this stereoscopic image projection device, the light from the right-eye image and the light from the left-eye image separated from each other by the split mirror are given different optical characteristics by the optical filter. Glasses that can be easily manufactured at low cost, such as a polarizing filter and a wavelength selection filter (Infitec), can be used as the glasses.

  That is, the present invention can be configured by using a single projector, and it is not necessary to increase the vertical frequency or compress the image information, and the stereoscopic glasses to be used can be easily manufactured at low cost. An image projection apparatus can be provided.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a stereoscopic image projection apparatus according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the stereoscopic image projection apparatus according to the present invention has a display device 1. The display device 1 is, for example, a reflective liquid crystal display element (LCOS: Liquid Crystal on Silicon) or the like, and is the same as that used in a conventional projection type image display apparatus. The display device 1 displays a right-eye (or left-eye) image in a substantially half area 1a on one side of the display area, and a left-eye (or left-eye) in a substantially half area 1b on the other side of the display area. Or the image for the right eye) is displayed. In the display device 1, the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye are displayed in the same frame period. Therefore, in the display device 1, it is not necessary to increase the vertical frequency or compress the image information as compared with the display device in the conventional projection type image display apparatus.

  Then, the light from the image for the right eye displayed on the display device 1 and the light from the image for the left eye displayed on the display device 1 are collected by the condenser lens 2 that forms part of the projection lens. After that, the light is incident on the split mirror 3 to separate the optical path. The split mirror 3 has two reflecting surfaces directed toward the condenser lens 2 side. One reflecting surface of the split mirror 3 deflects light from the image for the right eye by approximately 90 ° in a direction away from the optical axis of the condenser lens 2. The other reflecting surface of the split mirror 3 deflects light from the image for the left eye by approximately 90 ° in a direction away from the optical axis of the condenser lens 2. The light from the image for the right eye and the light from the image for the left eye are respectively deflected to the opposite sides in the direction away from the optical axis of the condenser lens 2.

  As the split mirror, two mirrors with the reflecting surface facing the condenser lens 2 may be used. In this case, one mirror is disposed so as to deflect light from the image for the right eye by approximately 90 ° in a direction away from the optical axis of the condenser lens 2, and the other mirror is disposed from the image for the left eye. The light is arranged so as to be deflected by approximately 90 ° in a direction away from the optical axis of the condenser lens 2.

  The light from the image for the right eye is reflected by the mirror 4a and deflected by approximately 90 °, and travels to the front side (screen side). The light from the image for the left eye is also reflected by the mirror 4b and deflected by approximately 90 °, and travels to the front side (screen side). Light from the image for the right eye is projected onto the screen 6 and imaged through the exit lens 5a constituting the projection lens. Light from the image for the left eye is projected onto the screen 6 and formed through the exit lens 5b constituting the projection lens. The light from the image for the right eye and the light from the image for the left eye are projected on the screen 6 so as to overlap each other, thereby displaying the overlapped images.

  The light from the right-eye image and the light from the left-eye image are transmitted through the optical filters 7a and 7b on the optical path from the split mirror 3 to the screen 6, respectively. That is, the light from the image for the right eye is transmitted through the optical filter 7a before entering the exit lens 5a. Further, the light from the image for the left eye passes through the optical filter 7b before entering the exit lens 5b. In addition, you may install these optical filters 7a and 7b so that the light radiate | emitted from the output lenses 5a and 5b may permeate | transmit.

  These optical filters 7a and 7b give different optical characteristics to light from the image for the right eye and light from the image for the left eye. These optical filters 7a and 7b are, for example, a polarization filter, a wavelength selection filter (Infitec), etc., and the light from the right-eye image and the light from the left-eye image have different polarization directions, or The light has different wavelength distributions.

  The image for the right eye and the image for the left eye displayed so as to overlap each other on the screen 6 in this manner are recognized as a stereoscopic image by observing through the so-called stereoscopic glasses 8. The stereoscopic glasses 8 include a right eye filter 8a and a left eye filter 8b. The right-eye filter 8a has a characteristic of transmitting only light for displaying a right-eye image. Further, the left-eye filter 8b has a characteristic of transmitting only light for displaying a left-eye image.

  The right-eye filter 8a and the left-eye filter 8b are, for example, polarization filters, and the right-eye filter 8a has transmission characteristics corresponding to the polarization direction of light for displaying a right-eye image. 8b has a transmission characteristic corresponding to the polarization direction of the light for displaying the image for the left eye.

  The right-eye filter 8a and the left-eye filter 8b are, for example, frequency selection filters, and the right-eye filter 8a has a transmission characteristic corresponding to the frequency characteristic of light for displaying the right-eye image. The left-eye filter 8b has a transmission characteristic corresponding to the frequency characteristic of the light for displaying the left-eye image.

  FIG. 2 is a graph showing a cycle of an image displayed on the display device of the stereoscopic image projection apparatus.

  In the stereoscopic image projection apparatus configured as described above, the display device 1 displays the right-eye image and the left-eye image in the same frame period in the left and right regions 1a and 1b, as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a case where a gray scale ranging from white at the top of the screen to black at the bottom of the screen is displayed. When a display device 1 having a display screen with a horizontally long aspect ratio of 4096 pixels × 2160 pixels is used, the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye each have 2048 pixels × 2160 pixels corresponding to one half of the display screen. This is the maximum display area. In this case, the maximum display area of the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye is a substantially square having an aspect ratio of approximately 1: 1, and is particularly a display area useful for a planetarium device or a simulator device.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which the display area of the right-eye image and the left-eye image is a square of 2024 pixels × 2024 pixels. The driving waveform in FIG. 2 is a case where a reflective liquid crystal display element (LCOS) is used as the display device 1, and the voltage waveform of interest is repeated within one vertical period around the VCOM voltage. The right-eye image is displayed in the period indicated by 9a + and 9a- in FIG. 2, and the left-eye image is displayed in the period indicated by 9b + and 9b- in FIG.

  In this way, the stereoscopic image projection apparatus according to the present invention uses a single projector, does not require high frequency of the vertical frequency and does not require compression of image information, and is easy to manufacture and inexpensive. A stereoscopic image can be displayed using glasses. The projector in this stereoscopic image projection apparatus uses the projection lens of the conventional projection type image display apparatus as the condenser lens 2, the split mirror 3, the mirrors 4a and 4b, the optical filters 7a and 7b, and the exit lenses 5a and 5b. Since the projection lens unit can be replaced with a projector lens unit, the manufacture is easy and the maintenance is easy.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of a stereoscopic image projection apparatus according to the present invention in which a color image is displayed using three display devices.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the stereoscopic image projection apparatus according to the present invention uses one display device 1R, 1G, and 1B for R (red), G (green), and B (blue), so that color An image can be displayed.

  In this stereoscopic image projection apparatus, the illumination light emitted from the light source 10 is reflected and collected by a twin-type reflector 11 and passes through a condenser lens 12 to become a substantially parallel light beam. As the light source 10, a xenon lamp, a so-called UHP lamp, or the like is used. The illumination light that has passed through the condenser lens 12 is reflected by the cold mirror 13 to cut the infrared light component, and further passes through the UV / IR filter 14 to cut light in a color range unnecessary for image display. The The illumination light that has passed through the UV / IR filter 14 passes through the fly eye integrators 15 and 16 and is condensed toward the element by each fly eye, and the illuminance is made uniform.

  The illumination light that has passed through the fly eye integrators 15 and 16 is incident on the cross dichroic plate 18 via the relay lens 17. The cross dichroic plate 18 separates incident illumination light into B light and Y (yellow) light. Y light is a mixed color of R and G.

  The B light reflected by the cross dichroic plate 18 enters a pre-PBS (Polarized Beam Splitter) 19. The pre-PBS 19 reflects only the S-polarized light with respect to the reflecting surface and transmits the P-polarized light, thereby aligning the B illumination light with the S-polarized component. The B illumination light emitted from the pre-PBS 19 is incident on the main PBS 21 via the field lens 20. The main PBS 21 reflects only the S-polarized light with respect to the reflection surface and transmits the P-polarized light, thereby causing the S-polarized component of the B illumination light to enter the B display device 1B via the wavelength plate 22.

  On the other hand, the Y light reflected by the cross dichroic plate 18 enters the pre-PBS 23. The pre-PBS 23 reflects only the S-polarized light with respect to the reflecting surface and transmits the P-polarized light, thereby aligning the Y illumination light with the S-polarized component. The Y illumination light emitted from the pre-PBS 23 enters the dichroic plate 24. The dichroic plate 24 separates incident illumination light into R light and G light.

  The R illumination light transmitted through the dichroic plate 24 is incident on the main PBS 26 via the field lens 25. The main PBS 26 reflects only the S-polarized light with respect to the reflecting surface and transmits the P-polarized light, thereby causing the S-polarized component of the R illumination light to enter the R display device 1R via the wavelength plate 27.

  The G illumination light reflected by the dichroic plate 24 is incident on the main PBS 29 via the field lens 28. The main PBS 29 reflects only the S-polarized light with respect to the reflection surface and transmits the P-polarized light, thereby causing the S-polarized component of the G illumination light to enter the G display device 1G via the wavelength plate 30.

  The B illumination light incident on the B display device 1B is polarized and modulated in accordance with the B component of the right-eye image and the B component of the left-eye image and reflected. The modulated light returns to the main PBS 21 via the wave plate 22, and the modulated P-polarized light component passes through the reflecting surface of the main PBS 21 and enters the cross dichroic prism 31.

  The R illumination light incident on the R display device 1R is polarized and modulated in accordance with the R component of the right eye image and the R component of the left eye image. The modulated light returns to the main PBS 26 via the wave plate 27, and the modulated P-polarized light component passes through the reflecting surface of the main PBS 26 and enters the cross dichroic prism 31.

  The G illumination light incident on the G display device 1G is polarized and modulated in accordance with the G component of the right eye image and the G component of the left eye image. The modulated light returns to the main PBS 29 via the wave plate 30, and the modulated P-polarized light component passes through the reflecting surface of the main PBS 29 and enters the cross dichroic prism 31.

  The R, G, and B modulated lights incident on the cross dichroic prism 31 from three directions in this way are combined by the cross dichroic prism 31 and emitted to the front side of the cross dichroic prism 31. Light emitted from the cross dichroic prism 31 enters the projection lens unit. As described above, the projection lens unit includes the condenser lens 2, the split mirror 3, the mirrors 4a and 4b, the optical filters 7a and 7b, and the exit lenses 5a and 5b. The projection lens unit allows the right-eye image combined with the R, G, and B modulated light and the left-eye image combined with the R, G, and B modulated light on the screen 6 to each other. Superposed and projected, overlaid and displayed.

  As described above, the right-eye image and the left-eye image displayed on the screen 6 in this manner are recognized as stereoscopic images by observing through the so-called stereoscopic glasses 8 as described above. The stereoscopic glasses 8 include a right eye filter 8a and a left eye filter 8b. The right-eye filter 8a has a characteristic of transmitting only light that displays an image for the right eye that has passed through the optical filter 7a. The left-eye filter 8b has a characteristic of transmitting only light for displaying the image for the left eye that has passed through the optical filter 7b. These right-eye filter 8a and left-eye filter 8b are, for example, a polarization filter or a frequency selection filter.

  It should be noted that the interval between the exit lenses 5a and 5b of the projection lens unit of the stereoscopic image projection apparatus can be adjusted in order to match the interval between the left and right eyes of the observer or to adjust the parallax angle of the left and right images. It is desirable.

It is a top view which shows the structure of the three-dimensional image projector which concerns on this invention. It is a graph which shows the period of the image displayed in the display device of the three-dimensional image projector concerning the present invention. It is a top view which shows the structure of the three-dimensional image projector which concerns on this invention which was made to display a color image using three display devices. It is a top view which shows the structure of the conventional stereoscopic image projector. It is a top view which shows the other example of the conventional stereo image projector.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display device 1R R display device 1G G display device 1B B display device 2 Condensing lens 3 Split mirror 5a, 5b Output lens 6 Screen 7a, 7b Optical filter

Claims (1)

One of the right-eye or left-eye images is displayed in a substantially half area on one side of the display area, and the right-eye or left-eye image is displayed in a substantially half area on the other side of the display area. A display device for displaying the other;
A split mirror that separates an optical path between light from the image for the right eye displayed on the display device and light from the image for the left eye displayed on the display device;
An optical filter that imparts different optical properties to the light from the image for the right eye and the light from the image for the left eye;
A projection lens for projecting light from the image for the right eye and light from the image for the left eye that has passed through the optical filter onto the screen to form an image, and superimposing these images on the screen; and
The display device displays the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye in the same frame period.

Images